Jake Habegger's 8th grade social studies class at Freedom Middle School in Franklin looks more like a lounge than a classroom.

The lights are dimmed. Leather couches and tables, not desks, fill the room. Students take out laptops instead of notebooks and pencils.

It was a different scene a year-and-a-half ago.

"The way I used to do it – I'd stand in front of the class and talk for 45 minutes," said Habegger, motioning towards students on their laptops. "But now, they all work at their own pace."

Habegger's students answer questions about the Industrial Revolution on a Google Hyperdoc, an online document with links to related websites and videos.

Devices are changing how students learn at school.

In the Franklin Special School District, where teachers are encouraged to provide assignments on digital platforms, that means less traditional lecturing and more self-guided lessons in some classes.

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Jake Habegger floats around his 8th grade social studies class to help the students in what is called a flipped classroom setting at the Freedom Middle School in Franklin, Tenn., Thursday, March 2, 2017.(Photo: Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean)

1:1 device initiative

Technology integration will likely increase as the district expands its1:1 device initiative, or one device per student ratio.

Last month, the district rolled out a 1:1 device initiative for grades 7-8 at two schools. They plan to expand the initiative to more schools and grades.

"The demands of the 21st century require our students to be ready to engage in a global economy," said FSSD Instructional Technology Specialist Cindy Cook.

"Our students must begin to explore technology, feel comfortable with this resource and ultimately be able to use technology to complete projects and tasks, to conduct research, and to be able to navigate the wealth of information that exists at our fingertips," she said.

Neighboring district Williamson County Schools has about a 3:1 device ratio.​

A district effort

FSSD has been intentional about integrating technology in the classroom.

The district has spent the last few years broadening their bandwidth for the 1:1 transition. They've budgeted money for additional laptops and tasked a strategic planning committee to discuss the transition.

Instructional technology specialists make weekly school visits to meet with grade-level teams of teachers to plan lessons, provide training and resources. Sometimes the specialists co-teach with classroom teachers to implement technology-driven lessons.

Teachers have access to professional learning sessions for 1:1 integrated technology lessons and technology conferences.

There's the possibility of device damage or misuse, connectivity lapses and sustainability over time. But Cook said the challenges are not significant enough to pause technology integration.

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Alex Verastegui studies for his 8th grade social studies test at the Freedom Middle School in Franklin, Tenn., Thursday, March 2, 2017.(Photo: Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean)

A learning curve

Habegger is 29 and calls himself a digital native. Still, he said there was a learning curve to implementing a flipped classroom, a model that reverses a class's typical lecture and homework components.

"I do Flipped Mastery, so on every assignment, they have to get at least a 76 percent to show proficiency. So if they go below that, they have to go back and figure out what they didn't know and relearn it," he said.

With a background in the music business, Habegger knew how to edit audio, but had to learn to record and produce his own videos to supplement his lessons.

"With the videos, they can watch and rewatch until they get it," he said.

He said the first few weeks of his flipped classroom were "really scary."
"Just standing and watching them work, I kind of thought, 'Why am I here?'" he said. "I realized my role really is to support individuals when they need it. A lot of them don't need a lot help. They just need the material to get through it."
He added: "Others need more teacher support. So I get to focus on the ones that need it more."

Since the flipped classroom is relatively new, Habegger issues surveys for student feedback.

"I kind of view it as a business model," he said. "You want your customers happy."

Eighth grade student Sydney Hampton has used Google Classrooms since the 5th grade.

"All of it is a lot easier," said Hampton said of the online assignments. "We can go at our own place."

She said Habegger's videos are a plus - he often records himself in front of a green screen background.

"If it's more entertaining, I pay more attention," Hampton said.

At the middle school level, teachers use the Google Classrooms platform to distribute at least a portion of student assignments electronically.

Not entirely paperless

Teachers are encouraged to integrate technology in a way that's comfortable for them, Cook said.

One middle school Spanish class, for example, has gone paperless. In an English class, students use computers for class lessons in addition to composition notebooks used for creative writing.

Across the hallway from Habegger, math teacher Patrick Ballard also uses a flipped classroom model.

Students are expected to review class lessons before going to class, and class time is meant for extra questions, Ballard said.

Students work on a lesson on slope with paper and a computer.

"I'm not doing a whole lot of whole class instruction," Ballard said.

Measuring success

The district does not track data solely focused on integrated technology since the 1:1 ratio is intended to support student learning.

"Success is measured in a variety of ways and one of the most powerful forms of measurement is the actual observation of students interacting with technology.

"A successfully integrated lesson includes the opportunity for students to use devices and applications in a relevant manner, with demonstration of mastery through project-based learning creations," she said.